Osnabrück Zoo Appoints New Managing Director
(V.l.n.r.) A: Oberbürgermeisterin Katharina Pötter begrüßte den zukünftigen Zoogeschäftsführer Philipp Bruelheide gemeinsam mit Zoopräsident Dr. E.h. Fritz Brickwedde.
© Zoo Osnabrück (Hanna Räckers)
(eap) Zoo Osnabrück gGmbH gets a new Managing Director. On December 1, Philipp Bruelheide, a graduate in business administration, takes over the management of the German Osnabrück Zoo from Andreas Busemann. “After an extensive application process, we as the Supervisory Board unanimously decided in favor of Philipp Bruelheide, whom we now warmly welcome to Osnabrück Zoo,” said Dr. h.c. Fritz Brickwedde, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and President of Zoogesellschaft Osnabrück e. V. Among the members of the Supervisory Board’s selection committee, in addition to the Zoo President, was Mayor Katharina Pötter. “I am very pleased that we have found a competent successor. The task is a very responsible one, because Osnabrück Zoo is a tourist landmark for the region,” said Pötter.
“The decisive factor in our decision to appoint Mr. Bruelheide is his business expertise as well as his positive personal charisma. He is a very empathetic person with a modern management style,” explains Brickwedde. Bruelheide himself reports: “I live in Werther and have known Osnabrück Zoo since my early childhood – in recent years also particularly intensively again, as I regularly visit it with my wife and our three children.” He also feels a connection to professional tourism: “Working where other people spend their free time is an extremely motivating driver.”
After studying business administration, Bruelheide (38 years old) co-founded an online startup in the tourism industry. Since 2014, he has worked at DENIOS SE in Bad Oeynhausen, a market-leading manufacturer and distributor of products for occupational safety, among other things. Most recently, he held the position of Chief Digital Officer in this company.
“Osnabrück Zoo has an excellent reputation, also far beyond the region,” Bruelheide explains. “What has been achieved here in recent years and decades is remarkable. I would like to continue this great development. It is important to me to involve all employees in their specialist disciplines in all important decisions. I consider that indispensable.” First, however, he said, he needs to get a detailed internal picture before concretizing initial ideas. ■
